I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4896

To grant the consent of the Congress to the Kansas and Missouri

Metropolitan Culture District Compact.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1994

Mr. WHEAT (for himself and Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To grant the consent of the Congress to the Kansas and

Missouri Metropolitan Culture District Compact.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. CONSENT TO COMPACT.

4 The Congress consents to the Kansas and Missouri

5 Metropolitan Culture District Compact entered into be6 tween the State of Kansas and the State of Missouri. The

7 compact reads substantially as follows:
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1 ‘‘KANSAS AND MISSOURI METROPOLITAN

2 CULTURE DISTRICT COMPACT

3 ‘‘ARTICLE I. AGREEMENT AND PLEDGE

4 ‘‘The states of Kansas and Missouri agree to and

5 pledge, each to the other, faithful cooperation in the future

6 planning and development of the metropolitan culture dis7 trict, holding in high trust for the benefit of this people

8 and of the nation, the special blessings and natural advan9 tages thereof.

10 ‘‘ARTICLE II. POLICY AND PURPOSE

11 ‘‘The party states, desiring by common action to fully

12 utilize and improve their cultural facilities, coordinate the

13 services of their cultural organizations, enhance the cul14 tural activities of their citizens, and achieve solid financial

15 support for such cultural facilities, organizations and ac16 tivities, declare that it is the policy of each state to realize

17 such desires on a basis of cooperation with one another,

18 thereby serving the best interests of their citizenry and

19 effecting economies in capital expenditures and oper20 ational costs. The purpose of this compact is to provide

21 for the creation of a metropolitan culture district as the

22 means to implementation of the policy herein declared

23 with the most beneficial and economical use of human and

24 material resources.
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1 ‘‘ARTICLE III. DEFINITIONS

2 ‘‘As used in this compact, unless the context clearly

3 requires otherwise:

4 ‘‘(a) ‘Metropolitan culture district’ means a political

5 subdivision of the states of Kansas and Missouri which

6 is created under and pursuant to the provisions of this

7 compact and which is composed of the counties in the

8 states of Kansas and Missouri which act to create or to

9 become a part of the district in accordance with the provi10 sions of Article IV.

11 ‘‘(b) ‘Commission’ means the governing body of the

12 metropolitan culture district.

13 ‘‘(c) ‘Cultural activities’ means activities which con14 tribute to or enhance the aesthetic, artistic, historical, in15 tellectual or social development or appreciation of mem16 bers of the general public.

17 ‘‘(d) ‘Cultural organizations’ means nonprofit and tax

18 exempt social, civic or community organizations and asso19 ciations which are dedicated to the development, provision,

20 operation, supervision, promotion or support of cultural

21 activities in which members of the general public may en22 gage or participate.

23 ‘‘(e) ‘Cultural facilities’ means facilities operated or

24 used for participation or engagement in cultural activities

25 by members of the general public.
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1 ‘‘ARTICLE IV. THE DISTRICT

2 ‘‘(a) The counties in Kansas and Missouri eligible to

3 create and initially compose the metropolitan culture dis4 trict shall be those counties which meet one or more of

5 the following criteria:

6 ‘‘(1) The county has a population in excess of

7 300,000, and is adjacent to the state line;

8 ‘‘(2) The country contains a part of a city with

9 a population according to the most recent federal

10 census of at least 400,000; or

11 ‘‘(3) The county is contiguous to any county de12 scribed in provisions (1) or (2) of this subpart (a).

13 The counties of Johnson in Kansas and Jackson in

14 Missouri shall be sine qua non to the creation and

15 initial composition of the district. Additional coun16 ties in Kansas and Missouri shall be eligible to be17 come a part of the metropolitan culture district if

18 such counties are contiguous to any one or more of

19 the counties which compose the district and within

20 60 miles of the counties that are required by this ar21 ticle to establish the district;

22 ‘‘(b)(1) Whenever the governing body of any county

23 which is eligible to create or become a part of the metro24 politan culture district shall determine that creation of or

25 participation in the district is in the best interests of the
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1 citizens of the county and that the levy of a tax to provide

2 on a cooperative basis with another county or other coun3 ties for financial support of the district would be economi4 cally practical and cost beneficial to the citizens of the

5 county, the governing body may adopt by majority vote

6 a resolution authorizing the same.

7 ‘‘(2) Wherever a petition, signed by not less than the

8 number of qualified electors of an eligible county equal to

9 5% of the number of ballots cast and counted at the last

10 preceding gubernatorial election held in the county and re11 questing adoption of a resolution authorizing creation of

12 or participation in the metropolitan culture district and

13 the levy of a tax for the purpose of contributing to the

14 financial support of the district, is filed with the governing

15 body of the county, the governing body shall adopt such

16 a resolution.

17 ‘‘(3) Implementation of a resolution adopted under

18 this subpart (b) shall be conditioned upon approval of the

19 resolution by a majority of the qualified electors of the

20 county voting at an election conducted for such purpose.

21 ‘‘(c)(1) Upon adoption of a resolution pursuant to

22 subpart (b)(1) or subpart (b)(2), the governing body of

23 the county shall request, within 36 months after adoption

24 of the resolution, the county election officer to submit to

25 the qualified electors of the county the question of whether
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1 the governing body shall be authorized to implement the

2 resolution. The resolution shall be printed on the ballot

3 and in the notice of election. The question shall be submit4 ted to the electors of the county at the primary or general

5 election next following the date of the request filed with

6 the county election officer. If a majority of the qualified

7 electors are opposed to implementation of the resolution

8 authorizing creation of, or participation in, the district

9 and the levy of a tax for financial support thereof, the

10 same shall not be implemented. The governing body of the

11 county may review procedures for authorization to create

12 or become a part of the district and to levy a tax for finan13 cial support thereof at any time following rejection of the

14 question.

15 ‘‘(2) The ballot for the proposition in any county shall

16 be in substantially the following form:

17 ‘‘Shall a retail sales tax of llllll (insert

amount, not to exceed 1 18 ⁄4 cent) be levied and collected in

19 Kansas and Missouri metropolitan culture district consist20 ing of the county(ies) of llllll (insert name of

21 counties) for the support of cultural facilities and organi22 zations within the district?

23 YES NO

24 The governing body of the county may place additional

25 language on the ballot to describe the use or allocation

26 of the funds.
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1 ‘‘(d)(1) the metropolitan culture district shall be cre2 ated when implementation of a resolution authorizing the

3 creation of the district and the levy of a tax for contribu4 tion to the financial support thereof is approved by respec5 tive majorities of the qualified electors of at least Johnson

6 County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri.

7 ‘‘(2) When implementation of a resolution authoriz8 ing participation in the metropolitan culture district and

9 the levy of a tax for contribution to the financial support

10 thereof is approved by a majority of the qualified electors

11 of any county eligible to become a part of the district, the

12 governing body of the county shall proceed with the per13 formance of all things necessary and incidental to partici14 pation in the district.

15 ‘‘(e) Any of the counties composing the metropolitan

16 culture district may withdraw from the district by adop17 tion of a resolution and approval of the resolution by a

18 majority of the qualified electors of the county, all in the

19 same manner provided in this Article IV for creating or

20 becoming a part of the metropolitan culture district. The

21 governing body of a withdrawing county shall provide for

22 the sending of formal written notice of withdrawal from

23 the district to the governing body of the other county or

24 each of the other counties comprising the district. Actual

25 withdrawal shall not take effect until 90 days after notice
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1 has been sent. A withdrawing county shall not be relieved

2 from any obligation which such county may have assumed

3 or incurred by reason of being a part of the district, in4 cluding, but not limited to, the retirement of any outstand5 ing bonded indebtedness of the district.

6 ‘‘ARTICLE V. THE COMMISSION

7 ‘‘(a) The metropolitan culture district shall be gov8 erned by the metropolitan culture commission which shall

9 be a body corporate and politic and which shall be com10 posed of resident electors of the states of Kansas and Mis11 souri, respectively, as follows:

12 ‘‘(1) A member of the governing body of each

13 county which is a part of the district, who shall be

14 appointed by majority vote of such governing body;

15 ‘‘(2) A member of the governing body of each

16 city, with a population according to the most recent

17 federal census of at least 50,000, located in whole or

18 in part within each county which is a part of the dis19 trict, who shall be appointed by majority vote of

20 such governing body;

21 ‘‘(3) A member of the arts commission of Kan22 sas or the Kansas commission for the humanities,

23 who shall be appointed by the governor of Kansas;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(4) A member of the arts commission of Mis2 souri or the Missouri humanities council, who shall

3 be appointed by the governor of Missouri.

4 To the extent possible, the gubernatorial appointees to the

5 commission shall be residents of the district. The term of

6 each commissioner initially appointed by a county govern7 ing body shall expire concurrently with such commis8 sioner’s tenure as a county officer or three years after the

9 date of appointment as a commissioner, whichever occurs

10 sooner. The term of each commissioner succeeding a com11 missioner initially appointed by a county governing body

12 shall expire concurrently with such successor commis13 sioner’s tenure as a county officer or four years after the

14 date of appointment as a commissioner, whichever occurs

15 sooner. The term of each commissioner initially appointed

16 by a city governing body shall expire concurrently with

17 such commissioner’s tenure as a city officer or two years

18 after the date of appointment as a commissioner, which19 ever occurs sooner. The term of each commissioner suc20 ceeding a commissioner initially appointed by a city gov21 erning body shall expire concurrently with such successor

22 commissioner’s tenure as a city officer or four years after

23 the date of appointment as a commissioner, whichever oc24 curs sooner. The term of each commissioner appointed by

25 the governor of Kansas or the governor of Missouri shall
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1 expire concurrently with the term of the appointing gov2 ernor, the commissioner’s tenure as a state officer, or four

3 years after the date of appointment as a commissioner of

4 the district, whichever occurs sooner. Any vacancy occur5 ring in a commissioner position for reasons other than ex6 piration of terms of office shall be filled for the unexpired

7 term by appointment in the same manner that the original

8 appointment was made. Any commissioner may be re9 moved for cause by the appointing authority of the com10 missioner.

11 ‘‘(b) The commission shall select annually, from its

12 membership, a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a

13 treasurer. The treasurer shall be bonded in such amounts

14 as the commission may require.

15 ‘‘(c) The commission may appoint such officers,

16 agents and employees as it may require for the perform17 ance of its duties, and shall determine the qualifications

18 and duties and fix the compensation of such officers,

19 agents and employees.

20 ‘‘(d) The commission shall fix the time and place at

21 which its meetings shall be held. Meetings shall be held

22 within the district and shall be open to the public. Public

23 notice shall be given of all meetings.

24 ‘‘(e) A majority of the commissioners from each state

25 shall constitute, in the aggregate, a quorum for the trans-
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1 action of business. No action of the commission shall be

2 binding unless taken at a meeting at which at least a

3 quorum is present, and unless a majority of the commis4 sioners from each state, present at such meeting, shall

5 vote in favor thereof. No action of the commission taken

6 at a meeting thereof shall be binding unless the subject

7 of such action is included in a written agenda for such

8 meeting, the agenda and notice of meeting having been

9 mailed to each commissioner by postage paid first-class

10 mail at least 14 calendar days prior to the meeting.

11 ‘‘(f) The commissioners from each state shall be sub12 ject to the provisions of the laws of the states of Kansas

13 and Missouri, respectively, which relate to conflicts of in14 terest of public officers and employees. If any commis15 sioner has a direct or indirect financial interest in any cul16 tural facility, organization or activity supported by the dis17 trict or commission or in any other business transaction

18 of the district or commission, the commissioner shall dis19 close such interest in writing to the other commissioners

20 and shall abstain from voting on any matter relating to

21 such facility, organization or activity or to such business

22 transaction.

23 ‘‘(g) If any action at law or equity, or other legal pro24 ceeding, shall be brought against any commissioner for

25 any act or omission arising out of the performance of du-
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1 ties as a commissioner, the commissioner shall be indem2 nified in whole and held harmless by the commission for

3 any judgment or decree entered against the commissioner

4 and, further, shall be defended at the cost and expense

5 of the commission in any such proceeding.

6 ‘‘ARTICLE VI. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE

7 COMMISSION

8 ‘‘(a) The commission shall adopt a seal and suitable

9 bylaws governing its management and procedure.

10 ‘‘(b) The commission has the power to contract and

11 to be contracted with, and to sue and to be sued.

12 ‘‘(c) The commission may receive for any of its pur13 poses and functions any contributions or moneys appro14 priated by counties or cities and may solicit and receive

15 any and all donations, and grants of money, equipment,

16 supplies, materials and services from any state or the

17 United States or any agency thereof, or from any institu18 tion, foundation, organization, person, firm or corporation,

19 and may utilize and dispose of the same.

20 ‘‘(d) Upon receipt of recommendations from the advi21 sory committee provided in subsection (g), the commission

22 may provide donations, contributions and grants or other

23 support, financial or otherwise, or in aid of cultural orga24 nizations, facilities or activities in counties which are part

25 of the district. In determining whether to provide any such
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1 support the commission shall consider the following fac2 tors:

3 ‘‘(1) economic impact upon the district;

4 ‘‘(2) cultural benefit to citizens of the district

5 and to the general public;

6 ‘‘(3) contribution to the quality of life and pop7 ular image of the district;

8 ‘‘(4) contribution to the geographical balance of

9 cultural facilities and activities within and outside

10 the district;

11 ‘‘(5) the breadth of popular appeal within and

12 outside the district;

13 ‘‘(6) the needs of the community as identified

14 in an objective cultural needs assessment study of

15 the metropolitan area; and

16 ‘‘(7) any other factor deemed appropriate by

17 the commission.

18 ‘‘(e) The commission may own and acquire by gift,

19 purchase, lease or devise cultural facilities within the terri20 tory of the district. The commission may plan, construct,

21 operate and maintain and contract for the operation and

22 maintenance of cultural facilities within the territory of

23 the district. The commission may sell, lease, or otherwise

24 dispose of cultural facilities within the territory of the dis25 trict.
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1 ‘‘(f) At any time following five years from and after

2 the creation of the metropolitan cultural district as pro3 vided in paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of article IV, the

4 commission may borrow moneys for the planning, con5 struction, equipping, operation, maintenance, repair, ex6 tension, expansion, or improvement of any cultural facility

7 and, in that regard, the commission at such time may:

8 ‘‘(1) issue notes, bonds or other instruments in

9 writing of the commission in evidence of the sum or

10 sums to be borrowed. No notes, bonds or other in11 struments in writing shall be issued pursuant to this

12 subsection until the issuance of such notes, bonds or

13 instruments has been submitted to and approved by

14 a majority of the qualified electors of the district

15 voting at an election called and held thereon. Such

16 election shall be called and held in the manner pro17 vided by law;

18 ‘‘(2) issue refunding notes, bonds or other in19 struments in writing for the purpose of refunding,

20 extending or unifying the whole or any part of its

21 outstanding indebtedness from time to time whether

22 evidenced by notes, bonds or other instruments in

23 writing. Such refunding notes, bonds or other instru24 ments in writing shall not exceed in amount the

25 principal of the outstanding indebtedness to be re-
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1 funded and the accrued interest thereon to the date

2 of such refunding;

3 ‘‘(3) provide that all notes, bonds and other in4 struments in writing issued hereunder shall or may

5 be payable, both as to principal and interest, from

6 sales tax revenues authorized under this compact

7 and disbursed to the district by counties comprising

8 the district, admissions and other revenues collected

9 from the use of any cultural facility or facilities con10 structed hereunder, or from any other resources of

11 the commission, and further may be secured by a

12 mortgage or deed of trust upon any property inter13 est of the commission; and

14 ‘‘(4) prescribe the details of all notes, bonds or

15 other instruments in writing, and of the issuance

16 and sale thereof. The commission shall have the

17 power to enter into covenants with the holders of

18 such notes, bonds or other instruments in writing,

19 not inconsistent with the powers granted herein,

20 without further legislative authority.

21 ‘‘(g) The commission shall appoint an advisory com22 mittee composed of members of the general public consist23 ing of an equal number of persons from both the states

24 of Kansas and Missouri who have demonstrated interest,

25 expertise, knowledge or experience in cultural organiza-
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1 tions or activities. The advisory committee shall make rec2 ommendations annually to the commission regarding do3 nations, contributions and grants or other support, finan4 cial or otherwise, for or in aid of cultural organizations,

5 facilities and activities in counties which are part of the

6 district.

7 ‘‘(h) The commission may provide for actual and nec8 essary expenses of commissioners and advisory committee

9 members incurred in the performance of their official du10 ties.

11 ‘‘(i) The commission shall cause to be prepared annu12 ally a report on the operations and transactions conducted

13 by the commission during the preceding year. The report

14 shall be submitted to the legislatures and governors of the

15 compacting states, to the governing bodies of the counties

16 comprising the district, and to the governing body of each

17 city that appoints a commissioner. The commission shall

18 publish the annual report in the official county newspaper

19 of each of the counties comprising the district.

20 ‘‘(j) The commission has the power to apply to the

21 congress of the United States for its consent and approval

22 of the compact. In the absence of the consent of congress

23 and until consent is secured, the compact is binding upon

24 the states of Kansas and Missouri in all respects permitted

25 by law for the two states, without the consent of congress,
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1 for the purposes enumerated and in the manner provided

2 in the compact.

3 ‘‘(k) The commission has the power to perform all

4 other necessary and incidental functions and duties and

5 to exercise all other necessary and appropriate powers not

6 inconsistent with the constitution or laws of the United

7 States or of either of the states of Kansas or Missouri

8 to effectuate the same.

9 ‘‘ARTICLE VII. FINANCE

10 ‘‘(a) The moneys necessary to finance the operation

11 of the metropolitan culture district and the execution of

12 the powers, duties and responsibilities of the commission

13 shall be appropriated to the commission by the counties

14 comprising the district. The moneys to be appropriated to

15 the commission shall be raised by the governing bodies of

16 the respective counties by the levy of taxes as authorized

17 by the legislatures of the respective party states.

18 ‘‘(b) The commission shall not incur any indebtedness

19 or obligation of any kind; nor shall the commission pledge

20 the credit of either or any of the counties comprising the

21 district or either of the states party to this compact, ex22 cept as authorized in article VI. The budget of the district

23 shall be prepared, adopted and published as provided by

24 law for other political subdivisions of the party states. No

25 budget shall be adopted by the commission until it has
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1 been submitted to and reviewed by the governing bodies

2 of the counties comprising the district and the governing

3 body of each city represented on the commission.

4 ‘‘(c) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of

5 all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disburse6 ments of the commission shall be audited yearly by a cer7 tified or licensed public accountant and the report of the

8 audit shall be included in and become a part of the annual

9 report of the commission.

10 ‘‘(d) The accounts of the commission shall be open

11 at any reasonable time for inspection by duly authorized

12 representatives of the compacting states, the counties

13 comprising the district, the cities that appoint a commis14 sioner, and other persons authorized by the commission.

15 ‘‘ARTICLE VIII. ENTRY INTO FORCE

16 ‘‘(a) This compact shall enter into force and become

17 effective and binding upon the states of Kansas and Mis18 souri when it has been entered into law by the legislatures

19 of the respective states.

20 ‘‘(b) Amendments to the compact shall become effec21 tive upon enactment by the legislatures of the respective

22 states.

23 ‘‘ARTICLE IX. TERMINATION

24 ‘‘This compact shall continue in force and remain

25 binding upon a party state until its legislature shall have
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1 enacted a statute repealing the same and providing for

2 the sending of formal written notice of enactment of such

3 statute to the legislature of the other party state. Upon

4 enactment of such a statute by the legislature of either

5 party state, the sending of notice thereof to the other

6 party state, and payment of any obligations which the

7 metropolitan culture district commission may have in8 curred prior to the effective date of such statute, includ9 ing, but not limited to, the retirement of any outstanding

10 bonded indebtedness of the district, the agreement of the

11 party states embodied in the compact shall be deemed fully

12 executed, the compact shall be null and void and of no

13 further force or effect, the metropolitan culture district

14 shall be dissolved, and the metropolitan culture district

15 commission shall be abolished.

16 ‘‘ARTICLE X. CONSTRUCTION AND

17 SEVERABILITY

18 ‘‘The provisions of this compact shall be liberally con19 strued and shall be severable. If any phrase, clause, sen20 tence or provision of this compact is declared to be con21 trary to the constitution of either of the party states or

22 of the United States or the applicability thereof to any

23 government, agency, person or circumstance is held in24 valid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and

25 the applicability thereof to any government, agency, per-
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1 son or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this

2 compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of either

3 of the states party thereto, the compact shall thereby be

4 nullified and voided and of no further force or effect.

5 ‘‘(a) The board of county commissioners of any coun6 ty which has been authorized by a majority of the electors

7 of the county to create or to become a part of the metro8 politan culture district and to levy and collect a tax for

9 the purpose of contributing to the financial support of the

10 district shall adopt a resolution imposing a countywide re11 tailers’ sales tax and pledging the revenues received there12 from for such purpose. The rate of such tax shall be fixed

13 in an amount of not more than .25%. Any county levying

14 a retailers’ sales tax under authority of this section is

15 hereby prohibited from administering or collecting such

16 tax locally, but shall utilize the services of the state de17 partment of revenue to administer, enforce and collect

18 such tax. The sales tax shall be administered, enforced and

19 collected in the same manner and by the same procedure

20 as other countywide retailers’ sales taxes are levied and

21 collected and shall be in addition to any other sales tax

22 authorized by law. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a

23 resolution authorizing the levy of a countywide retailers’

24 sales tax pursuant to this section, the state director of tax25 ation shall cause such tax to be collected within and out-
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1 side the boundaries of such county at the same time and

2 in the same manner provided for the collection of the state

3 retailers’ sales tax. All moneys collected by the director

4 of taxation under the provisions of this section shall be

5 credited to the metropolitan culture district retailers’ sales

6 tax fund which fund is hereby established in the state

7 treasury. Any refund due on any countywide retailers’

8 sales tax collected pursuant to this section shall be paid

9 out of the sales tax refund fund and reimbursed by the

10 director of taxation from retailers’ sales tax revenue col11 lected pursuant to this section. All countywide retailers’

12 sales tax revenue collected within any county pursuant to

13 this section shall be remitted at least quarterly by the

14 state treasurer, on instruction from the director of tax15 ation, to the treasurer of such county.

16 ‘‘(b) All revenue received by any county treasurer

17 from a countywide retailers’ sales tax imposed pursuant

18 to this section shall be appropriated by the county to the

19 metropolitan culture district commission within 60 days

20 of receipt of the funds by the county for expenditure by

21 the commission pursuant to and in accordance with the

22 provisions of the Kansas and Missouri metropolitan cul23 ture district compact. If any such revenue remains upon

24 nullification and voidance of the Kansas and Missouri

25 metropolitan culture district compact, the county treas-
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1 urer shall deposit such revenue to the credit of the general

2 fund of the county.

3 ‘‘(c) Any countywide retailers’ sales tax imposed pur4 suant to this section shall expire upon the date of actual

5 withdrawal of the county from the metropolitan culture

6 district or at any time the Kansas and Missouri metropoli7 tan culture district compact becomes null and void and

8 of no further force or effect. If any moneys remain in the

9 metropolitan culture district retailers’ sales tax fund upon

10 nullification and voidance of the Kansas and Missouri

11 metropolitan culture district compact, the state treasurer

12 shall transfer such moneys to the county and city retailers’

13 sales tax fund to be apportioned and remitted at the same

14 time and in the same manner as other countywide retail15 ers’ sales tax revenues are apportioned and remitted.’’.

16 SEC. 2. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.

17 The Congress expressly deserves the right to alter,

18 amend, or repeal this Act.

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